An intimate documentary portrait of legendary British horse-racing jockey A.P. McCoy, who risks life and limb in his determination to place his winning record out of reach of future challengers before he retires.

Being AP

Anthony Wonke

Year

2015

Runtime

98 min

Language

English

Country

Ireland, United Kingdom

Principal Cast

Anthony McCoy

A.P. McCoy is a man addicted to winning. In
over twenty years as a horse-racing jockey,
he achieved a legendary status in the United
Kingdom, tallying up more than 4,000 wins
despite being taller (at 5'10") than most of
his peers. In this gripping documentary,
McCoy nears the age of forty and confronts a
fate that unnerves him more than any injury:
the pressure to retire.

McCoy is a complicated figure whose
drive for greatness comes with risks and
sacrifices. Having been crowned Champion
Jockey nineteen consecutive times, he's
dead-set on making it twenty. Director
Anthony Wonke follows him on his tireless
journey from race to race — sometimes several
in a day — as he tries to push his record
out of reach for future challengers. But while
he approaches every race with the fear of losing,
his wife Chanelle is more worried about
bodily harm. Over the course of McCoy's
career, races have gotten faster, making
jumps more perilous and accidents more
life-threatening. Chanelle wants to ensure
her husband's future as a father to their two
young children, and the tension between the
couple escalates as McCoy nears a decision
about his future.

It's rare for an athlete of McCoy's accomplishments
to give a documentary crew so
much access. Cinematographers Thomas
Elliott and Andrew Thompson make the
most of it, capturing horse racing in all its
beauty and intensity with new camera technology
that brings us closer to the jockey's
experience than was ever possible before.
Again and again, we watch McCoy shrug off
bad falls and keep racing. "Pain is temporary,"
he says. "Losing is permanent."